The Tetsubun Fortress Campaign
by Kiue Jin
Summary: A month after Naruto's return to Konoha, he bugged Tsunade for a mission. He got what he wanted, but will he and the newly created and completely temporary Team Fifteen survive the Tetsubun Fortress Campaign? Couples pending results of a poll.
1. The Assignment

**The T****etsubun** Fortress Campaign: Day -3

**Konoha, Hokage's office. **

Tsunade was not having a good day.

Shizune had managed to locate her hidden stash of sake that morning, certain members the council were trying to sneak tax breaks by her again (Which resulted in her having to pay attention and _read_ what was written on the never-ending stacks of paperwork.), the old carrion birds in human form known as Homura and Koharu had been trying to get their beaks into places they didn't belong while complaining again how she was doing everything wrong and to top it all off, Jiraiya's new book had hit the stands earlier today and she highly suspected that one of the characters was based heavily on her with the slightest change in moral fiber ( The story version of her was a hell of a lot more...open to exotic suggestions then in reality.).

She honestly couldn't see how this day could get any wor...

"Hey old lady! Ya got a mission for me yet?"

Tsunade considered very briefly the act of slamming her head into her desk. This train of thought was quickly replaced with the somewhat more enjoyable one of slamming Naruto's head into her desk a few times.

While she might have a soft spot in her heart for the blond haired brat, there were some days that she considered using the same training technique she had used to deal with her perverted team mate's habits in her presence. Many of her kunoichi would be shocked to learn that Jiraya was a perverted shadow of what he was before she caught him trying to peek on her while she was relaxing in a woman's bathhouse.

"Brat, What have I told you about bursting in here and demanding missions WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?"

" Does my answer have any impact on the outcome of me getting a mission?"

Tsunade's left eye started to twitch rather dangerously as a vein seemed to bulge out of her forehead. She was so close to snapping that she could feel the straitjacket already. While she might have missed the brat during his training trip with her team mate and was really glad when he came back a month ago, right now she was contemplating mass homicide (After all, if she was going to go to all the effort of slaying her favorite blond haired brat, she sure as hell was going to hunt down everyone else who's actions pushed her into insanity and take them out. She had had a number of wonderful dreams on that subject).

What she needed was to make the loud mouth go away and the only way to do that was to find something for the little brat to do. Giving a sigh as she looked down at her desk, she started to sort through the small pile of missions that needed her approval. This would require a great deal of thought. While a simple D rank would get him out of her office, he might be back later today, if not tomorrow, asking for another one. That removed about a third of the pile.

Despite the fact that she believed that Naruto had a lot of promise and would one day make a great hokage himself, there was no way in hell he was ready to take on something A ranked or above solo yet and they didn't have anyone she would pair or team him with, which ruled out about half of what was left.

Just when she was starting to lose all hope that there was no possible way that she was going to get any peace and quiet around her office through none violent means, a mission scroll offered her some sort of salvation from the whining little blond before her. High C to low B ranked, the rest of the team was good to go, all they were missing was a fourth team member in order to meet the requirements for a boarder patrol. The tour was listed to last a month and the team would be based at the Tetsubun outpost, better known as the 'Iron Fortress'.

While the fact that it would be more then perfect way to get Naruto away from her for at least a month, it would also serve to give him the chance to interact with his fellow shinobi. At all times, Tetsubun was manned by eight patrol teams and two maintenance teams of four per team. It was a great assignment for genin and chuunin to get to know their peers and discover what kind of shinobi they would be. How a shinobi treated the assignment and behaved in the presence of their fellow shinobi was often what everyone remembered them by.

Besides, it wasn't like he wouldn't know anyone there. Team eight had been assigned to the same outpost two days beforehand.

Clearing her throat**, **Tsunade picked up the scroll and put on a small smile as she looked at an impatient Naruto, gesturing over to a coach at the side of the room.

"I have just the thing for you. Just take a seat on the coach over there and I'll summon the rest of the team for this mission."

…...

Naruto was bored.

At first, he had been really excited about the prospect of going on a C to B ranked mission. He had watched the old lady send out for the rest of his team, but that had been over twenty minutes ago.

Grandma Tsunade had returned to her stacks of paperwork and after witnessing her tear apart a seemingly random pile of paper while cackling like an evil witch before turning her attention to the next sheet of paper while muttering a three way conversation to herself while one of her eyes were twitching Naruto had wisely made the only decision that would enable him to avoid getting beaten into a wall or the ground: Stay seated, Don't make any sudden moves or sounds and if asked about it later he was asleep and didn't see or hear anything.

After twenty long minutes of doing nothing but staying off of Granny Tsunade's collateral damage list, the blond genin was bored out of his mind. When a knock sounded at the door, the one thing that kept Naruto from jumping into the air in joy was the knowledge that he would most likely be maimed if he did.

Watching as Granny looked up from her desk, he noticed her seemingly prepare herself for company by toning down the insanity and collected herself before announcing to the world that she was permitting whoever was standing at the door that they were being granted an audience with their beloved and benevolent greatness. Naruto then took a moment to pause and wonder what the hell 'benevolent' actually meant and ponder how it ended up in his head.

"Enter."

As the door opened and allowed three people, two rather unfamiliar to enter the room one by one, Naruto quickly stood up and moved over to stand with them in front of the Hokage's desk. Looking at those standing next to him, he tried to take in what details he could get.

The first person he noticed was the pre-teen girl standing next to him. While he had never met the girl before, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be a mix between a chibi-Hinata and what Neji might have looked like if 'he' had been born a 'she'. The girl's hair was a dark brown color with long bangs, and her eyes were almost completely white. Her forehead protecter hung around her neck in a fashion that was exactly like Hinata's, showing to the world that her forehead was clear. She was wearing an armless blue v-neck shirt and blue shorts with a weapon pouch hanging on her hip.

The second figure was the tallest person in the room, easily standing a foot taller then Naruto was. It was also impossible to tell what the man looked like (Naruto was assuming it was a man. There seemed to be a complete lack of bumps on it's chest to suggest otherwise.) due to the outfit he wore. The top part of his face was hidden behind a white mask. The eyes of the mask were covered in something that looked exactly like the smoked glass of sunglasses. The lower part of his face was blocked by the breathing apparatus of gas mask. The rest of him was covered completely in such a way as to cover every single inch of flesh. On closer inspection, Naruto noticed that the outfit seemed to be airtight, clamping down around the man's mask, wrists and ankles. It was impossible to tell if he even had hair, since it was somewhere underneath the black outfit. If not for the odd breathing noises coming through the gas mask, he was damn sure the man (Teenager? It was hard to tell.) wouldn't be able to breath at all. A pair of boots and black gloves that managed to slide under the clamps, sealing everything inside the suit. On top of the outfit was a green chuunin vest.

The last person in the line up was rather dull when compared to everyone else. He was a little shorter then Naruto was, with short brown hair and a rather worn brown shirt with sleeves that cut off at the elbow and a pair of old green pants that cut off two thirds of the way down his leg, a weapon pouch hanging from each of his sleeves and a few scrolls in his back pockets. On closer inspection, it would appear as if both pouches had been sewn there. The kid had to be sixteen, maybe seventeen years old.

Turning his attention back to Grandma Tsunade when she gave a polite cough in order to get all four of them to pay attention to her since, much like Naruto had done to them, they had all taken the time to size each other up. It was easy to forget that when you were watching others, others were watching you. All of them stood to some manner of attention as their leader addressed them.

" For the duration of this mission, you will be known as Team Fifteen. Team Fifteen shall be made up of Uzumaki, Naruto of Team Seven, Hyūga, Hanabi of Team Five and Gorotsuki, Musei of Team Two. You shall be lead by Chuunin Tsukai, Soeki. Is that understood?"

Four "Hai"'s rang out.

Emboldened by this, the old lady continued on in a tone that clearly showed why she was the top dog in the village.

" Your mission is to head to the Tetsubun Outpost and relieve Team Six of their patrol duties. Once that is done, you will take over their duties around the Outpost, which include performing patrols of the boarder and any maintenance work that the Outpost requires of you. You will be on this assignment for thirty days and you will remain at Tetsubun until your replacement team arrives to replace you. Do all of you understand?

The wave of "Hai"'s was almost a pleasant sound to hear.

"Very well. Soeki, the team is yours."

The mysterious masked chuunin bowed his head in acknowledgment before taking a step forwards and turning his gaze to the genins that he was now in charge of. While it wasn't possible to see what he looked like, Naruto could almost feel whenever the chuunin was looking at him. When Soeki spoke, his (and it was going to be a 'his' until that was solid proof otherwise) voice was deep and edged with a robotic tone, a result of the breathing equipment no doubt.

" You will all have an hour and a half to get your affairs in order and pack what equipment you will be needing for this mission. We'll be meeting at the eastern gate within the next two hours, but we will be leaving once everyone is gathered. Everyone clear on that?"

With a final group "Hai", Soeki nodded his head in approval.

"Dismissed."

**…...**

******One Hour, Twenty Nine Minutes later, The Eastern Gate of Konoha. **

He was fully packed and more than psyched for the mission to come!

After going home to gather his stuff ( Some clothing, some basic weapons, a jutsu scroll he was reading... six cups of three minute Ramen. The important things.) and stopping by Ichiraku's Ramen Stand for one last half a dozen bowls of his beloved ramen as well as asking Ayame if she would be kind enough to water his plants while he was gone (He had forgotten to do it before leaving for his training trip and the smell of dead plants isn't the most pleasant of things to come home too), Naruto had taken a look around for Sakura and Kakashi in order to tell them that he was off for a month or so. He was rather upset that he hadn't found either of them, but he did leave a message with the hospital receptionist to tell them he was going out on a mission.

It had occurred to him that this would be the first time he had taken a C or higher ranked mission without being on the same team as another member of his graduating class, fuzzy brow's team or the sensei of any of their teams. It was... well, exciting. Sure there was the standard fear of being meeting new people and being rejected by them, but that was put on the back burner for the time being.

Approaching the meeting spot, Naruto couldn't help but notice that the chuunin with the plain white mask and metallic voice had already beaten him there. It was a rather strange feeling, seeing a team leader who was actually punctual. After being stuck with Kakashi as a sensei with his 'lost on the road of life' bullshit, followed by Jiraiya and his sudden 'research' trips, drinking benders, hangover recovery days...

As far as he was concerned, Metal man had already earned a ton of brownie points with him.

"Hey Metal man! You're early aren't ya?"

Soeki turned towards the new voice since it seemed to be directed at him, connecting the voice to a face and a face to a name. The nickname admittedly threw him a little. Mumbling under his breath while the member of his team was still out of range, Soeki had to ask himself "...Metal man?"

Shaking his head slightly to put figuring out his new nickname back to another day, Soeki smiled underneath his mask... which couldn't be seen by anyone but the gesture was still there.

"Not really. I didn't really give an exact time for us to meet up so the least I could do was be here before you little guys started to panic. So tell me Naruto, is it true that you know the Shadow Clone Technique? And if so, how many clones can you make at once?"

At the seemingly innocent question, Naruto let a large grin consume his face, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Yep! I can make thousands if I want too!"

Despite the fact that it was impossible to read anything about Soeki, the air of surprise hung in the air around him. Already, wheels were turning in his mind.

"That is truly impressive. While I honestly hope that we don't run into a situation where you would need to pull off such a feat, it would really be a damn good sight to see."

Accepting the compliment and glad that he seemed to be at least getting along with his squad leader, Naruto nodded his head in thanks before walking over to a bare wall near the check point and leaned his back against it, getting ready for the wait for the rest of his new team mates.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto couldn't help but ask "So Metal man, what's with the bio-suit? I've never seen someone where one willingly before."

Despite the upfront and possibly rude nature of the question, Naruto was really interested in the answer. He had seen some of the ANBU wear such outfits before on a number of occasions when some of his pranks went horribly wrong (Or horribly right... depended on the prank and if he was there to suffer from it).

Soeki could have reacted in a number of ways to this question. He could have ignored it, gotten angry over it, answered it with a lie or, if he wanted to give the genin nightmares, answer it with the truth. He decided against all these options and went with a witty remark that didn't tell him jack shit.

"I wear this for the same reason you were bright orange, with the added peace of mind that if we get gassed, I'll be perfectly fine."

Naruto couldn't really find anything else to say to that and simply returned to being silent and waiting for the rest of the team to show up. At least he wasn't going to be waiting for long this time.

_**AN: Hello everyone. It's me again. **_

_**I would like to introduce you to my newest fanfiction story. To answer those interested in the -3 on the days, I am officially starting the mission when they arrive at the fortress, which will be declared day 0.**_

_**There are going to be a number of polls connected with this story which will be open for a few days in order to discover some of the finer details, such as who in the Konoha 11 will be in this story and ****what relationships will be discovered. Team 15 (Mentioned above) and Team 8 (Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Kurenai) are already selected. **_

_**I will also be holding a contest. Even with the rest of the Konoha 11 (If they all get a min number of votes) there will be a need for a number of OC's. I've already got a couple in mind, but there will be a need for more. Anyone who wishes to submit an idea for an OC, including name, age, place of birth, history, personality and any bloodline they might have, Please send my a PM or submit your idea in the reviews. Remember, we will need OC's both loyal to Konoha and some mercenaries and bandits to go against them. **_

_**Please tell me what you think of this story. Be honest.**_

_**Dedication: **_

_**They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, ANBU, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of fiction is identical: It is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero (or villain) one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they wanted to. **_

_**This story is dedicated to those fine men and women.**_


	2. First Impressions

**The T****etsubun** Fortress Campaign: First Impressions

**Konoha's Eastern Gate: One hour, fifty six minutes after the formation of Team Fifteen. **

You could have cut the uncomfortably awkward silence between Naruto and Soeki with a spork.

It wasn't that they disliked each other or anything like that, it was just the fact that they didn't know each other in the slightest while having little to no talent nor desire in forcefully starting such a conversation. Both of them knew that since they were going to be working together for the next month or so, chances were good that they would find something that they could relate to each other with.

Still, both of them were watching the clocking hanging behind the chuunin (Tokubetsu jonin?) who was currently stationed at the check in station like a pair of cats eying a bird in a cage* (*Well, Naruto was. It was impossible to see what Soeki was physically doing underneath his mask and clothing, but he appeared to be staring at the clock). It was quite clear that both of them wanted to be going and they were being held up by the rest of their team.

In the end, it was Naruto that broke the stalemated silence between them.

"So Metal Man, have you worked with either of our teammates before?"

Soeki didn't seem to notice for a moment before turning his head so the smoked glass that covered his eyes had Naruto in their sights.

" I don't believe I have had the pleasure of working with the rest of our team before. What about you?"

Naruto, for his part, found the impossible-to-see-through black glass that made up his team leaders eyes rather intimidating. The fact that any emotion in the man's face or voice were completely blocked out by the mask he wore didn't help matters. Still, he managed to hide it behind a nervous chuckle.

"Nope. But I swear that I've seen the Hyūga girl before somewhere..."

Naruto would later swear that he heard Soeki chuckle at his statement before answering him. The fact that his voice sounded like it wasn't coming from a real person gave it a rather sinister edge, even through he was pretty sure that wasn't the masked man's intention... He hoped...

"Understandable. If you've worked with a Hyūga before, it feels like you've worked with them all. They do tend to act, fight and look the bloody same."

Naruto felt a deep urge to stand up for his friends Hinata and Neji and defend them from these almost baseless attacks. For once, he didn't just rush into the argument. After all, he was going to be working with this man for some time and if he was going to defend his friends honor, he would have to do something better then start a 'Are not, Are too' fight. Sure it would be fun but it proved nothing at the end of the day.

As much as he hated to admit it, having watched Neji and Hinata fight before, even someone as blindly devoted to his friends as Naruto had to admit that they pretty much had the same fighting style.

Plus, having broken into the Hyūga compound a couple of times in the past to perform and set up a couple of pranks on people who really needed to lighten up, the blond had seen enough Hyūga to admit that they looked rather alike. The fact that they all had the same basic eye color and hair cuts was a _little_ creepy. Sure, on the female members of the clan it gave them an almost exotic beauty, but the fact that the males insisted on having the _same_ hair style while being more vain then their female counterparts was kind of weird...

" Hey!, I happen to be friends with a couple of people from the Hyūga clan and I don't like you insulting Hinata and Neji like that. They happen to be two very different people who have almost nothing in common."

Soeki's face couldn't be seen underneath his clothing, but he was surprised at the names his blond teammate was willing to give in day to day conversation.

" I have heard rumors of Lady Hinata, though I haven't met her in person. She is said to be a lot more kind hearted and open with her emotions then the rest of the clan. I was under the impression that she was considered an outcast within her family because of it... I am curious to see if her little sister turns out like her or if the soul crushing techniques of her family got to her first."

The sudden change of topic to a seemingly random subject caught Naruto off guard. "Huh? Why would you be interested in something like that if you don't even know Hinata?" While it wasn't possible for him to see Soeki's face due to the mask, Naruto could feel the _'Are you serous?' _look that must have been on his face underneath it.

"You are aware that I am speaking about one of our teammates, correct?"

Naruto blinked dumbly for a few moments before the point that the chuunin was making seemed to hit home. "So you're saying that the pale eyed girl with the brown hair is..."

" The second daughter of Hiashi Hyūga, the favorite of the two heiresses to become the next clan head of said clan and the younger sister of Hinata Hyūga. She is also our teammate for this mission and as such we have a duty and pleasure to keep an eye on her and help her out whenever was can."

Naruto had never seen Hinata as anything more then Hinata, a quiet, often panicky girl with a stutter that almost always seemed to have some kind of fever who was prone to fainting spells. The last time he had seen her was over almost three years ago and she seemed to be on the mend; She still suffered flashes of fever, but the fainting was gone. Still, she had never said a bad word too him and on the occasions where she wasn't out cold she seemed to care about him. It was more then enough to consider her as one of his precious people who he would gladly protect with his life in needed.

The fact that she was the heir of one of Konoha's clans had never been an issue for him. In fact, he was friends with quite a few people who just so happened to be the children of clan heads now that he thought about it. If he had been a slightly more scheming individual, it might have occurred to him that he was setting himself quite nicely for taking the Hokage position due to having the support of Konoha's clans and the influence that they have over the Jonin population. The thought had never once crossed his mind however.

Things like 'titles' and 'birth rights' very rarely made an impression on Naruto, but the later part of the chuunin's statement really stuck a cord with him. '_Those who disobeyed orders are scum, those that abandon their friends are worse then scum.' _

It took a few moments for Naruto be return from his internal musing, but once he did he noticed that he had completely missed whatever it was that Soeki had just said to him.

"Wha?"

Soeki for his part was handling the infamous 'explaining things to Uzumaki' curse quite well. He hadn't snapped or done anything stupid to the slightly younger male while keeping calm the whole time. He had heard of the rumors surrounding how it was impossible for Naruto to understand basic instructions or concepts because a number of the academy teachers had decided to get a little payback on a demon that had slain their friends and loved ones. The fact that most of these people had been completely and silently removed from the system before being replaced fueled the rumors.

Soeki remembered his former ex-teachers like a bitter taste in his mouth. If their treatment of Naruto was what had gotten the current Hokage to force their removal, he would be the first to step forwards and give evidence that how they handled the Kyuubi container was just the final straw that broke the camels back. His own days at the Academy were rather Bad. So bad in fact you could hear the capitalization.

"As I just said, while it is the duty of all of us to look out for one another anyway, I am personally tasking you with ensuring Hanabi's safety. Do you think you can handle that?"

Naruto looked at Soeki with confusion in his eyes. "Sure, but why are you asking me to do it?"

The masked Chuunin sighed before thinking carefully about his answer. It wasn't that hard to explain, he just had to make sure that it was worded so that the orange wearing shinobi in front of him would understand what he was saying.

" To start with, Hanabi is an heiress of a major clan in Konoha. The fact that she is an heiress of anything automatically makes her a target for scum trying to make a quick buck through blackmail. If you come from a family were the term 'Heiress' can be rightfully used, it normally means you've grown up with money and power. The fact that she also processes a highly valued bloodline... Let's just say that the options available are somewhat vast... Speak of the devil... "

Noticing that the chuunin was no longer looking at him and was looking somewhere else, Naruto tried to follow his gaze (When you can't see the persons eyes, it gets rather tricky to do this). Looking down the road that Soeki appeared to be staring down, the two of them saw a rare and absolutely adorable sight. It wasn't just them who noticed it either. While the street was mostly empty, there were a few bystanders that were privileged to have been standing there at the time.

There had always been many rumors surrounding the Hyūga clan, most of which were not at all pleasant. One of the more light hearted ones was about the sheer vanity they had when it came to their hair. It was rumored that if you wished to destroy a Hyūga's cool and calculating nature and drive them into a berserker like rage, all you had to do was attack their hair.

At the moment, Hanabi looked like a cat that had been thrown in a pool of icy cold water before being dragged out and having it head dried roughly with a really fluffy towel with caused all the fur on its head to stick up. You could see the sparks of an electrical current jump on occasion from the gravity defining fuzz ball that was Hanabi's hair. The expression on her face was both funny as hell and horrifying to bear witness too. Her face was so bright red from embarrassment and rage that you could see the glow from a distance. Her left eye was twitching a little, the rage inside them promising death to the first person to attract her attention.

Before the girl had reached them, Soeki glared at Naruto silently for a few moments in order to give the blond a chance to confess if the currently enraged Hyūga heading towards them had anything to do with him. Naruto broke under the stare, blurting out " I didn't do it! If I was going to go to that kind of effort before leaving the village, I would have targeted someone who had it coming."

Accepting that answer as the truth, Soeki nodded before mentally bracing for impact in three...two...

"WHERE IS THAT THIEVING LITTLE BASTARD?"

Wincing at the impact of her screech, both males looked at each other before Soeki took the leadership role and offered himself as a target. " And just who are you talking about?"

The glare that he got in return could have melted solid stone. When the somewhat younger girl spoke again, her voice was as soft and deadly as an icy wind while somehow dripping venom. Completely masking the rage from before, it was even more horrifying them her yelling at them. " That _bastard_ Musei soaked me with _ice cold_ water, shocked me with some sort of lightning jutsu which hurt even more then it should because of the fact I was soaking wet, took my clothes bag while I was unable to move and ran off with it. _So if you would kindly tell me where Musei is, I would like to get my stuff back.._." The sickly sweet tone her question was asked in fouled no one, but it send a rather nasty chill down the spines of those who heard it.

Soeki and Naruto looked at each other for a moment, a telepathic conversation going on between them as they both weighed up the facts and democratically voted on the solution. Within seconds, they both nodded their heads to each other as they agreed on what they would do.

**…...**

******Five Minutes Later. **

Musei was in a good mood when he decided to come to the meeting point.

He had pranked an heiress of the Hyūga clan, made a quick buck by selling her spare clothing to a clothes shop and had even picked up a stick of dango before heading off to meet his 'team' (He could still hear that snake cow's rampage over someone stealing one of her dango sticks from here. The fact he would be heading out of the village today while avoiding her 'questioning' methods made the dango taste all the sweeter). The sight he was treated too when he arrived was something that he wasn't expecting but found funny as all hell.

The white eyed little brat was currently sitting in between the rest of the team, tied up quite well with a black T-shirt shoved in her mouth as a makeshift gag. While it wasn't possible to understand exactly what it was the girl was trying to say due to the gag, as Musei approached he suspected that the noises she was trying to make were more akin to an emotional roar then real words. The sly smirk that was on his face because of the current situation only seemed to enrage the preteen more.

" I'm glad to see you guys caught a fish, but she seems to be a little too small to keep."

The prod about her height would have driven Hanabi to murder had she not been restrained beforehand. However, Naruto and Soeki didn't share in Musei's glee, looking at the latter in a disapproving manner. Oddly enough (or not, depending on your view of him), Naruto was the first to speak. " Look mate, a jokes a joke and all that but if you could give Hanabi back her stuff we could get going."

The look of mock surprise on Musei's face was as transparent as Anko's lucky bra ( The one who's existence has never been proven). " If you're talking about that bag full of useless rags that little Miss Princess over there was going to bring along and slow us down with, I've already done the _honorable _thing and sold them to those who needed them more then she did."

This wasn't _exactly_ a lie. The girl was part of one of the wealthiest bloody clans in Konoha. She could buy a whole goddamn wardrobe that would cost more then his apartment's rent over six months.

There was an uneasy silence for a few moments before Musei heard a low growl coming from behind him. It was the kind of growl that had been imprinted in the minds of all monkey shaped creatures since the dawn of time, freezing them in place with the simple message that moving meant death. Of course, staying still would also mean death, but that death wasn't going to happen this second.

The 'Hanabi' that was safely bound in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a Naruto in her place. This Naruto also vanished in a secondary puff of smoke, leaving behind some rope and a slightly damp T-shirt. Musei managed to turn around just in time to see the murder in Hanabi's eyes as she pounced at him like a predator of old.

For their part, Naruto and Soeki simply took a few steps closer to the gate and ignored Musei's girlish screams of pain. They were silent for a few minutes before Naruto turned to the chuunin and asked (With a voice loud enough to be heard) "Aren't you going to step in and stop this?"

Soeki just turned to the blond and shrugged. "Let her vent a little. As long as she keeps to her promise and avoids killing or crippling him, I won't step in. I don't see anything from stopping you from doing something however."

"Hey, I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I'm not stupid. Besides, the bastard has it coming."

This statement intrigued Soeki quite a bit. " I was under the impression that you were a prankster of sorts. Isn't it hypocritical if you turn your bac.." before he could finish the sentence, Naruto cut him off quite cleanly.

" I only pranked people who had it coming to them. Besides, my pranks were designed to embarrass or humiliate; I never once Robbed anyone... at least without being able to return it after the joke was over. Honestly we should just dump this bastard and get someone else to complete the team."

"Normally I would agree with you, but the fact is that there isn't anyone else at the moment. If we were to dump Musei as a squad member, we would have to wait for someone else to become available. This would take time and we would no doubt loss our mission to some other team."

The silence that followed (Well, silence if you were completely deaf to a teenage male in his later years screaming " WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SPLEEN?" in the high pitch wailing of a eight year old girl seeing a big hairy spider) was so deafening that you could _hear_ Naruto mentally listing the pros and cons of the situation.

With a defeated sigh, the blond simply dropped his head and looked at the ground as he said in a voice that clearly showed that his spirit was broken over this decision " What are your orders then?"

" We're going to get underway. Sadly, this means we are going to have to stop our teammates from solving their own problems. While I go calm Cherry down, I want you to drag the still breathing corpse of our teammate with us until he can walk on his own again. We can't be late, now can we?"

**…...**

**AN: Thank you for reading this story so far. **

**I have recently set up a new poll on my profile, asking my readers which story they would like to see me work on more, 'Loyalty and Insanity' or 'The Tetsubun Fortress Campaign'. Odds are I won't try writing the next chapter of either story until we have a clear winner. **

**If there are any comments or suggestions anyone wishes to give, Please leave a Review or send me a PM. **

**I am still looking for a beta reader for either story. If you wish to take such a job, please contact me as soon as possible. **

**Peace out! **


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